Mahoning Valley Sanitary District at risk of losing grant funds for Meander Dam improvements

Back in March of 2024, 21 News reported that FEMA has awarded the Mahoning Valley Sanitary District (MVSD) a $38 million grant to support safety upgrades for the Meander Reservoir dam. Now, MVSD is concerned that those funds could be lost.

MVSD Plant Operations Manager Tom Holloway told 21 News there is no official confirmation that the funding has been lost yet, but they did receive a notice from FEMA saying that grant funding could be pulled.

That near $38.2 million is supposed to fund improvements to the dam's structure. That grant funding is on top of a local share of $16.4 million. 

As it stands, the dam's primary spillway has the possibility to shift in the event of an earthquake or major rainfall. The plan is to put two anchors into the spillway to increase its stability.

Additionally, crews plan to make two more spillways so water will have another route to flow into the creek and take additional pressure off the primary spillway.

Holloway tells 21 News this project is so important because the Meander Reservoir supplies drinking water to residents of northern Mahoning County and southern Trumbull County, which accounts for more than 220,000 people.

Should this grant funding be lost, MVSD would need to look at alternative methods to fund the project like taking out a loan, which could result in potential water rate increases for consumers.

Holloway says it is too early to say how much this potential increase would be since bidding for the project has not even happened yet.

Bidding is set to take place June 5. From there, MVSD will have a clearer idea of the price tag for the project.

In the meantime, Holloway says he's reached out to Ohio state representatives in regards to the status of the grant funds.

During a roundtable discussion with Trumbull County officials and U.S. Senator Bernie Moreno Friday morning, the issue of potential rate increases and the loss of grant funds was brought up to Senator Moreno.

After listening to local officials' concerns, Moreno said he will "get on top of that" and "dive deep" into the issue at hand. Moreno added that the current administration is "moving at 100 miles an hour."

"When you move that quickly, you're going to make mistakes, and that's ok. I think the key is to have a partnership and a dialogue and a team that responds. If you identify something, let us know. If something is done incorrectly, we can fix it," Moreno said.

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FEMA grant to provide $38 million safety update for Meander Reservoir dam